Name	Saint John the Baptist
Birth date	c. 6–2 BC
Death date	c. 36 AD (aged 38-42)
Feast day	June 24 (Nativity), August 29 (Beheading), January 7 (Synaxis, Eastern Orthodox), Thout 2 ( Coptic Orthodox Church)
Venerated in	Islam, Assyrian Church of the East, Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Catholic Churches, Oriental Orthodox Churches, Anglicanism, Lutheranism, Mandeanism
Caption	John the Baptist baptizing Christ by Francesco Trevisani
Titles	Forerunner, Precursor, Baptist, Martyr
Attributes	Cross, sheep, camel-skin robe
Patronage	patron saint of French Canada, Newfoundland, Puerto Rico, Knights Hospitaller of Jerusalem, Florence, Turin, Porto, Genoa, Cesena, Jordan, Xewkija and many other places
Major shrine	Church of St. John the Baptist, Jerusalem

John the Baptist (Hebrew: יוחנן המטביל, Yoḥanan ha-mmatbil, Yahyá or يوحنا المعمدان Yūhannā al-maʿmadān, Aramaic: ܝܘܚܢܢ Yoḥanan) and a major religious figure who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River. Most historians agree he baptized Jesus.

John was a historical figure mentioned in each of the Canonical gospels, Aramaic Matthew and by the Jewish historian Josephus. He followed the example of previous Hebrew prophets, living austerely, challenging sinful rulers, calling for repentance, and promising God's justice. John is regarded as a prophet in Christianity, Islam, the Bahá'í Faith, and Mandaeism. Some scholars maintain that he was influenced by the Essenes, who were semi-ascetic, expected an apocalypse, and practiced rituals conferring strongly with baptism, although there is no direct evidence to substantiate this.

John's baptism was a purification rite for repentant sinners, performed in "living water" (in this case a running river) in accord with Jewish custom. John anticipated a messianic figure who would be greater than himself. Jesus may have been a follower of John. Herod Antipas saw John as a threat and had him executed at his wife's request. Both John and Jesus preached at times of great political, social, and religious conflict.

Accounts of John in the New Testament are not incompatible with the account in Josephus. In the New Testament Jesus is the one whose coming John foretold. Herod has John imprisoned for denouncing his marriage, and he is later executed. since in the Gospels, John announces Jesus' coming. He is also identified with the prophet Elijah, and is described by the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus.

Because Scripture described John as endowed with prenatal grace, the feast day of his birth (June 24) became celebrated more solemnly than that marking his martyrdom (August 29). A theme of Christian art is the beheading of St. John the Baptist. He is also depicted as an ascetic wearing camel hair and with a staff and scroll inscribed "Ecce Agnus Dei", or bearing a book or dish with a lamb on it.

In the Gospels

All four Gospels record John the Baptist's ministry as does the Gospel of the Hebrews. They depict him as proclaiming Christ's arrival. In the Synoptic Gospels (Mark, Matthew, and Luke), Jesus is baptized. In Matthew and John, John the Baptist recognizes Jesus as the one he had foretold.

Birth and infancy

The Gospel of Luke includes an account of John's infancy, introducing him as the son of Zachariah, an old man, and his wife Elizabeth, who was sterile. According to this account the birth of John was foretold by the angel Gabriel to Zachariah, while Zachariah was performing his functions as a priest in the temple of Jerusalem; since Zachariah is described as a priest of the course of Abijah, and his wife, Elizabeth, as one of the daughters of Aaron this would make John a descendant of Aaron on both his father's and mother's side.

The Gospel of Luke states that Jesus was conceived when Elizabeth was about six months pregnant; when her cousin Mary came to tell her about her news, Elizabeth's unborn child 'jumped for joy' in her womb. Zachariah had lost his speech at the behest and prophecy of the angel Gabriel, and it was restored on the occasion of Zachariah naming John. On the basis of Luke's account, the Catholic calendar placed the feast of John the Baptist on June 24, six months before Christmas. There is no mention of a family relationship between John and Jesus in the other Gospels, and the scholar Raymond E. Brown has described it as 'of dubious historicity'; Géza Vermes has called it 'artificial and undoubtedly Luke's creation'.

The many similarities between the accounts of the birth of John and that of Samuel in the Old Testament have led scholars to suggest that the Gospel of Luke story of the birth of John and of the annunciation and birth of Jesus are modeled on that of Samuel.

Ministry

, John the Baptist preaching]]

All four canonical gospels relate John's preaching and baptism in the River Jordan. Most notably he is the one who recognizes Jesus as the Messiah and baptizes him. The baptism marks the beginning of Jesus' ministry. The Gospels of Mark, Matthew and (most clearly) Luke relate that Jesus came from Galilee to John and was baptized by him, whereupon the Spirit descended upon Jesus and a voice from Heaven told him he was God's Son. Their lives (e.g., births) are believed to have been similar, although in much of Christianity, John is thought of as the last prophet and Jesus as the Messiah.

Considered by Christians to be without sin, Jesus nevertheless received John's baptism, which was for the repentance of sins (Mark 1:4). This is addressed in the Gospel of Matthew's account, which portrays John's refusal to baptize Jesus, saying, "I need to be baptized by you." Jesus persuades John to baptize him nonetheless (Matthew 3:13-15). In the Gospel of John, the Evangelist does not record John the Baptist baptizing Jesus but John introduces Jesus to his disciples as the "Lamb of God" (John 1:29-36).

The Gospel of John reports that Jesus' disciples were baptizing and that a debate broke out between some of the disciples of John and another Jew about purification with John explaining that Jesus "must become greater" while he, John, "must become less" (John 3:22-36). The Gospel of John then points out that Jesus' disciples were baptizing more people than John (John 4:2). Later, the Gospel relates Jesus regarding John as "a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light". (John 5:35).

The book of Acts portrays the disciples of John as eventually merging into the followers of Jesus (Acts 18:24-19:6), a development not reported by the Gospels except for the early case of Andrew, Simon Peter's brother (John 1:35-42). Scholars such as Harold W. Attridge contend that John's status as a "self-conscious and deliberate forerunner of Jesus" is likely to be an invention by early Christians, arguing that "for the early church it would have been something of an embarrassment to say that Jesus, who was in their minds superior to John the Baptist, had been baptized by him." However, the Gospels relate John's denying any claim to be the Messiah and clearly acknowledging his inferiority to Jesus on several occasions.

John the Baptist and Old Testament prophecy

, 1528]] , c.1560]] Christians believe that John the Baptist had a specific role ordained by God as forerunner or precursor of Jesus, who was the foretold Messiah. The New Testament Gospels speak of this role. In Luke 1:17 the role of John is referred to as being "to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." In Luke 1:76 as "...thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways" and in Luke 1:77 as being "To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins."

There are several passages within the Old Testament which are interpreted by Christians as being prophetic of John the Baptist in this role. These include a passage in the Book of Malachi 3:1 that refers to a prophet who would prepare the way of the Lord:

:Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts. — Malachi 3:1

and also at the end of the next chapter in Malachi 4:5-6 where it says,

:Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

The Jews of Jesus' day expected Elijah to come before the Messiah; indeed, some modern Jews continue to await Elijah's coming as well, as in the Cup of Elijah the Prophet in the Passover Seder. This is why the disciples ask Jesus in Matthew 17:10, 'Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come?.' The disciples are then told by Jesus that Elijah came in the person of John the Baptist,

:Jesus replied, "To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things. But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands." Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist. — Matthew 17:11-13

These passages are applied to John in the Synoptic Gospels. The Gospel of John indicates that John the Baptist did not fully appreciate his status,

Now this was John's testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, "I am not the Christ." They asked him, "Then who are you? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" He answered, "No." - John 1:19-21

Josephus

An account of John the Baptist is found in all extant manuscripts of the Jewish Antiquities (book 18, chapter 5, 2) by Flavius Josephus (37–100): :Now some of the Jews thought that the destruction of Herod's army came from God, and that very justly, as a punishment of what he did against John, that was called the Baptist: for Herod slew him, who was a good man, and commanded the Jews to exercise virtue, both as to righteousness towards one another, and piety towards God, and so to come to baptism; for that the washing [with water] would be acceptable to him, if they made use of it, not in order to the putting away [or the remission] of some sins [only], but for the purification of the body; supposing still that the soul was thoroughly purified beforehand by righteousness. Now when [many] others came in crowds about him, for they were very greatly moved [or pleased] by hearing his words, Herod, who feared lest the great influence John had over the people might put it into his power and inclination to raise a rebellion, (for they seemed ready to do any thing he should advise,) thought it best, by putting him to death, to prevent any mischief he might cause, and not bring himself into difficulties, by sparing a man who might make him repent of it when it would be too late. Accordingly he was sent a prisoner, out of Herod's suspicious temper, to Macherus, the castle I before mentioned, and was there put to death. Now the Jews had an opinion that the destruction of this army was sent as a punishment upon Herod, and a mark of God's displeasure to him.

As with other passages in Josephus relating to Christian themes concern remains over whether the passage was part of Josephus's original text or instead a later addition. Skeptical writer Frank Zindler argues that the passage is an addition by a Sabian. The passage dates back to at least the early 3rd century as it is quoted by Origen in Contra Celsum. It was also quoted by Eusebius of Caesarea in the 4th century.

According to this passage, the execution of John was blamed for a defeat Herod suffered ca. AD 36. Divergences between the passage's presentation and the Biblical accounts of John include baptism for those whose souls have already been "purified beforehand by righteousness" is for purification of the body, not general repentance of sin (Mark 1:4

In the main Christian traditions

===Eastern Orthodox Church=== John the Baptist — the Angel of the Desert (Stroganov School, 1620s) Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow.]]

The Eastern Orthodox faithful believe that John was the last of the Old Testament prophets, thus serving as a bridge between that period of revelation and the New Covenant. They also teach that, following his death, John descended into Hades and there once more preached that Jesus the Messiah was coming, so he was the Forerunner of Christ in death as he had been in life. According to Sacred Tradition, John the Baptist appears at the time of death to those who have not heard the Gospel of Christ, and preaches the Good News to them, that all may have the opportunity to be saved. Orthodox churches will often have an icon of St. John the Baptist in a place of honor on the iconostasis, and he is frequently mentioned during the Divine Services. Every Tuesday throughout the year is dedicated to his memory.

The Eastern Orthodox Church remembers Saint John the Forerunner on six separate feast days, listed here in order in which they occur during the church year (which begins on September 1): September 23 — Conception of St. John the Forerunner

January 7 — The Synaxis of St. John the Forerunner. This is his main feast day, immediately after Theophany on January 6 (January 7 also commemorates the transfer of the relic of the right hand of John the Baptist from Antioch to Constantinople in 956)

February 24 — First and Second Finding of the Head of St. John the Forerunner

May 25 — Third Finding of the Head of St. John the Forerunner

June 24 — Nativity of St. John the Forerunner

August 29 — The Beheading of St. John the Forerunner

In addition to the above, September 5 is the commemoration of Zechariah and Elisabeth, St. John's parents. The Russian Orthodox Church observes October 12 as the Transfer of the Right Hand of the Forerunner from Malta to Gatchina (1799).

Roman Catholic Church

monastery in Lower Egypt. The bones of St. John the Baptist were said to have been found here.]]‎

The Roman Catholic Church commemorates St. John the Baptist on two feast days:

June 24 – Nativity of St. John the Baptist

August 29 – Beheading of St. John the Baptist

Relics

According to ancient tradition, the burial-place of John the Baptist was at Sebaste in Samaria, and mention is made of his relics being honored there around the middle of the 4th century. The historians Rufinus and Theodoretus record that the shrine was desecrated under Julian the Apostate around 362, the bones being partly burned. A portion of the rescued relics were carried to Jerusalem, then to Alexandria, where on May 27, 395, they were laid in the basilica that was newly dedicated to the Forerunner on the former site of the temple of Serapis. The tomb at Sebaste continued, nevertheless, to be visited by pious pilgrims, and St. Jerome bears witness to miracles being worked there.

What became of the head of John the Baptist is difficult to determine. Nicephorus and Symeon Metaphrastes say that Herodias had it buried in the fortress of Machaerus (in accordance with Josephus). Other writers say that it was interred in Herod's palace at Jerusalem; there it was found during the reign of Constantine I, and thence secretly taken to Emesa, in Phoenicia, where it was concealed, the place remaining unknown for years, until it was manifested by revelation in 453. However, the decapitation cloth of St. John is kept at the Aachen Cathedral. The Coptic Christian Orthodox Church also claim to hold the relics of St. John the Baptist. These are to be found in a monastery in Lower Egypt between Cairo and Alexandria. It is possible, with permission from the monks, to see the original tomb where the remains were found. An obscure and surprising claim relates to the town of Halifax in West Yorkshire, United Kingdom, where the Baptist's head appears on the official coat-of-arms. A legend first recorded in the late 16th century and reported in Camden's 'Britannia' stated that the first religious settlers of the district brought the 'face' of John the Baptist with them and this accounts for the town's place-name – 'halig' (holy) and 'fax' (face).

The location of John's skull is the subject of various claims, including the following:

Topkapi Palace in Istanbul

The Monastery of Saint Macarius the Great in Scetes, Egypt. and at

Gandzasar Monastery's Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, in Nagorno Karabakh.

The Knights Templar. In the Middle Ages it was rumored that they had possession of the saint's severed head, and multiple records from their Inquisition in the early 14th century make reference to some form of head being venerated by the Knights. (Not extant).

San Silvestro in Capite in Rome. (Extant).

Amiens Cathedral, France, brought home by Wallon de Sarton from the Fourth Crusade in Constantinople.

Turkish Antioch. (Fate uncertain).

The Umayyad Mosque in Damascus. (Extant).

The Residenz Museum in Munich, Germany, the official residence of the Wittelsbach Family, the rulers of Bavaria from 1385 to 1918. The Schatzkammer (Treasury) portion of the museum has treasures and relics accumulated over ten centuries. The museum currently claims to have and is displaying the head of St. John the Baptist and his mother. (Extant:See photo.)

The parish church at Tenterden in Kent, where it was preserved up until the Reformation.

The saint's right hand with which he baptised Jesus is claimed by the Serbian Orthodox Cetinje monastery in Montenegro, and also by the Romanian skete of the Forerunner on Mount Athos. A further hand - it is unclear which - is preserved in the Armenian Apostolic Church of St. John at Chinsurah, West Bengal, where each year on "Chinsurah Day" in January it blesses the Armenians of Calcutta. An arm, with or without a hand, is at the Topkapi Palace. His father Zakariya, the Biblical priest Zechariah, too was an Islamic prophet.

Islamic tradition maintains that John was one of the prophets that Muhammad met on the night of the Mi'raj, his ascension through the Seven Heavens. It is said he met John and Jesus in the second heaven (Jannah), where Muhammad greeted his two 'brothers' before ascending with Gabriel (Jibral) to the third heaven, where he met Joseph (Yusuf), son of Jacob (Ya`qūb). John's story was also told to the Abyssinian king during Muhammad's Migration to Abyssinia.

Etymology

The name John is derived, via Latin and Greek, from the Hebrew name Yochanan () meaning: "Yahweh is gracious". Arab Christians use the name Youhanna for John, coming directly from the Hebrew and Aramaic which was used at the time.

The Arabic name Yahya is usually understood to mean "he shall live", spiritually meaning that John will forever be remembered as a great prophet. The names Youhanna and Yahya are, however, likely to be derived from the same base meaning and root.

Story of John

In the Qur'an, God frequently mentions Zechariah's continuous praying for the birth of son. Zechariah's wife, mentioned in the New Testament as Elizabeth, was barren and therefore the birth of a child seemed impossible.

Birth of John

As a gift from God, Zechariah was given a son by the name of Yahya (John), a name specially chosen for this child alone. In accordance with Zechariah's prayer, God made John and Jesus, for whom John paved the way, renew the message of God, which had been corrupted and lost by the Israelites. As the Qur'an says: }}

Prophecy of John

John was exhorted to hold fast to the Scripture and was given wisdom by God while still a child. He was pure and devout, and walked well in the Presence of God. He was dutiful towards his parents and he was not arrogant or rebellious. John was one on whom God sent peace on the day he was born and the day he died. He, along with all the prophets, will be resurrected on the Last Day to bear witness to the message. John is called a righteous, honorable and chaste person and, in a sense, also paved the way for Jesus, who, by God's command, would also help correct the corruptions that had crept into the faith of Israel. As God says of John:

}}

John was a classical prophet, who was exalted high by Allah, for his bold denouncing of all things sinful. Furthermore, the Qur'an speaks of John's gentle pity and love for all creatures and his humble attitude towards life, for which he was granted the Purity of Life:

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Shrine

, Damascus.]] The veneration of Yahya prevailed amongst some Muslim groups who were partly influenced by Byzantine Christian practices. This veneration, according to Muslim scholar Abu Rayhan Biruni, included a feast commemorating Yahya's beheading on the 29th of the Hebrew month of Av. A shrine existing through to modern times is the oratory (maqām) of Yahya, located in the Umayyad Mosque of Damascus. Some early reports mention that Umayyad caliph al-Walid I unearthed the head of Yahya and placed it in a pillar in Damascus, which had an architectural capital shaped like a basket of palm leaves. They view John as the only true Messiah.

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

According to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, latter-day revelation confirms the biblical account and also makes known additional events in the ministry of John the Baptist. According to this belief, revelation reveals that John was "ordained by an angel," when he was 8 days of age, to overthrow the kingdom of the Jews and to prepare a people for the Lord. They also claim that he was baptized while yet in his childhood.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that John the Baptist appeared on the banks of the Susquehanna River near Harmony Township, Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania (present-day Oakton), as a resurrected being, to Joseph Smith, Jr. and Oliver Cowdery on May 15, 1829, and ordained them to the Aaronic priesthood. According to LDS doctrine, John the Baptist's ministry has operated in three dispensations: he was the last of the prophets under the law of Moses; he was the first of the New Testament prophets; and he was sent to confer the Aaronic priesthood in our day, the dispensation of the fulness of times. They also believe John's ministry was foretold by two prophets whose teachings are included in the Book of Mormon: Lehi and his son, Nephi (Book of Mormon 1 Nephi 11:27; Nephi 31:4-18;).

Bahá'í view

There are numerous quotations in the writings of Bahá'u'lláh, Founder of the Bahá'í Faith mentioning John the Baptist. He is regarded by Bahá'ís as a lesser Prophet.

However, Bahá'ís consider the Báb to be a greater Prophet (Manifestation of God) and thus possessed of a far greater station than John the Baptist.

Gnostic and anthroposophic views

In Gnosticism, John the Baptist was a "personification" of the Old Testament prophet Elijah. As an Old Testament prophet, Elijah did not know the True God (the God of the New Testament), and thus had to be reincarnated in Gnostic theology. As predicted by the Old Testament prophet Malachi, Elijah must "come first" to herald the coming of Jesus Christ. Modern anthroposophy, initiated by Rudolf Steiner, concurs with the idea that the Baptist was a reincarnation of Elijah, in line with the Synoptic Gospels (e.g. Mark 9:11-13, Matthew 11:13-14, Luke 7:27), although the Gospel of John explicitly denies this (John 1:21). Furthermore, after his beheading at Machaerus his soul is said to have become the inspiring group genius of Christ's disciples. According to Steiner, the painter Raphael and the poet Novalis were more recent incarnations of John the Baptist.

Unification church

The Unification Church teaches that God intended that John help Jesus during his public ministry in Judea. In particular, John should have done everything in his power to persuade the Jewish people that Jesus was the Messiah. He was to become Jesus' greatest disciple. John's failure to do so was the chief obstacle to the fulfillment of Jesus' mission.

In art

John has been one of the saints most frequently appearing in Christian art. The Baptism of Christ was one of the earliest scenes from the Life of Christ to be frequently depicted in Early Christian art, and John's tall thin, even gaunt, and bearded figure is already established by the 5th century. Only he and Jesus are consistently shown with long hair from Early Christian times, when the apostles generally have trim classical cuts; in fact John is more consistently depicted in this way than Jesus. In Byzantine art the composition of the Deesis came to be included in every Eastern Orthodox church, as remains the case to this day. Here John and the Theotokos (Mary) flank a Christ Pantocrator and intercede for humanity; in many ways this is the equivalent of Western Crucifixions on roods and elsewhere, where John the Evangelist takes the place of John the Baptist (except in the idiosyncratic Isenheim Altarpiece). John the Baptist is very often shown on altarpieces designed for churches dedicated to him, or where the donor patron was named for him or there was some other connection of patronage - John was the patron saint of Florence, among many other cities, which means he features among the supporting saints in many important works.

A number of narrative scenes from his life were often shown on the predella of altarpieces dedicated to John, and other settings, notably the large series in grisaille fresco in the Chiostro del Scalzo, which was Andrea del Sarto's largest work, and the frescoed Life by Ghirlandajo in the Tornabuoni Chapel, both in Florence. There is another important fresco cycle by Filippo Lippi in Prato Cathedral. These include the typical scenes: the Annunciation to Zechariah, John's birth, his naming by his father, the Visitation, John's departure for the desert, his preaching in the desert, the Baptism of Christ, John before Herod, the dance of Salome, and his beheading.

His birth, which unlike the Nativity of Jesus allowed a relatively wealthy domestic interior to be shown, became increasingly popular as a subject in the late Middle Ages, with depictions by Jan van Eyck (?) in the Turin-Milan Hours and Ghirlandajo in the Tornabuoni Chapel being among the best known. His execution, a Church feast-day, was often shown, and by the 15th century scenes such as the dance of Salome became popular, sometimes, as in an engraving by Israhel van Meckenem, the interest of the artist is clearly in showing the life of Herod's court, given contemporary dress, as much as the martyrdom of the saint. Salome bearing John's head on a platter equally became a subject for the Northern Renaissance taste for images of glamorous but dangerous women (Delilah, Judith and others), and was often painted by Lucas Cranach the Elder and engraved by the Little Masters. These images remained popular into the Baroque, with Carlo Dolci painting at least three versions. John preaching, in a landscape setting, was a popular subject in Dutch art from Pieter Brueghel the Elder and his successors.

As a child (of varying age), he is sometimes shown from the 15th century in family scenes from the life of Christ such as the Presentation of Christ, the Marriage of the Virgin and the Holy Kinship. Leonardo da Vinci's versions of the Virgin of the Rocks were influential in establishing a Renaissance fashion for variations on the Madonna and Child that included John, probably intended to depict the cousin's reunion in Egypt, when after Jesus's Flight to Egypt John was believed to have been carried to join him by an angel. Raphael in particular painted many compositions of the subject, such as the Alba Madonna, La belle jardinière, Aldobrandini Madonna, Madonna della seggiola, Madonna dell'Impannata, which were among his best known works. John was also often shown by himself as an older child or adolescent, usually already wearing his distinctive dress and carrying a long thin wooden cross - another theme influenced by Leonardo, whose equivocal composition, reintroducing the camel-skin dress, was developed by Raphael Titian and Guido Reni among many others. Often he is accompanied by a lamb, especially in the many Early Netherlandish paintings which needed this attribute as he wore normal clothes. Caravaggio painted an especially large number of works including John, from at least five largely nude youths attributed to him, to three late works on his death - the great Execution in Malta, and two sombre Salomes with his head, one in Madrid, and one in London.

The death of John remained a popular subject throughout the Baroque period, and then enjoyed a considerable revival at the end of the 19th century with Symbolist painters such as Gustave Moreau and Puvis de Chavannes (National Gallery, London). Oscar Wilde's play Salome was illustrated by Aubrey Beardsley, giving rise to some of his most memorable images.

Commemoration

.]]

As a patron saint

John is patron saint of Xewkija-Gozo, Malta, which remember him with a great feast on the Sunday nearest to June 24. A band march takes place on Thursday of that that week and is the best one in Gozo. Saint John the Baptist is the patron saint of Puerto Rico, and its capital city San Juan bears his name. In 1521, the island was given its formal name "San Juan Bautista de Puerto Rico", following the usual custom of christening the town with both its formal name and the name which Christopher Columbus had originally given the island, honouring John the Baptist. The indistinct use of "San Juan Bautista" and "Puerto Rico" for calling both the city and the island led to a reversal in practical use by most inhabitants due largely to a map-making error. Therefore by 1746 the name for the city (Puerto Rico) had become that of the entire island, while the name for the island (San Juan Bautista) had become the name for the city. The official motto for the island of Puerto Rico also references the saint, Joannes Est Nomen Eius (translated, "John is his name").

He is also a patron saint of Jordan, French Canada, and Newfoundland. The Canadian cities of St. John's, Newfoundland (1497) and Saint John, New Brunswick (1604) were both named in his honor. In the UK Saint John the Baptist is the patron saint of Penzance, Cornwall. His feast day is June 24, celebrated in Quebec as the Fête Nationale du Québec, and in Newfoundland as Discovery Day. Also on the night from June 23 to 24, Saint John is celebrated as the patron saint of Porto, the second largest city in Portugal. An article from June 2004 in The Guardian, remarked that "Porto's Festa de São João is one of Europe's liveliest street festivals, yet it is relatively unknown outside the country". He is also patron of the Knights Hospitaller of Jerusalem, Malta, Florence, and Genoa, Italy. Saint John the Baptist is also the patron saint of Jordan, his beheading is believed to have taken place in Machaerus in central Jordan.

The Baptistines are the name given to a number of religious orders dedicated to the memory of John the Baptist. Saint John is also the patron saint of Lian, Batangas, San Juan, Metro Manila (Philippines) and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charleston which comprises the entire state of South Carolina. St. John the Baptist is (along with St. John the Evangelist) claimed as a Patron Saint by the fraternal society of Free and Accepted Masons (better known as the Freemasons).

Festivity

In many Mediterranean countries the summer solstice is dedicated to St. John. The associated ritual is very similar to midsummer celebrations in the Anglo-Saxon.

Locations, churches, and other establishments in his name

Armenian Apostolic Monastery of Gandzasar, Nagorno Karabakh

Monastery of Saint John the Baptist, a 4th century Armenian monastery in the Taron province of historic Armenia that contained the relics of Saint John the Baptist (which were moved there from Caeserea)

Maronite Catholic Monastery of Saint John the Baptist, Beit Mery, Lebanon

Romanian Skete Prodromos (the name is the Greek for "The Forerunner") on Mount Athos, holding relics believed to be of John the Baptist

St John's College of The University of Oxford, Oxford, England

Puerto Rico was originally named San Juan Bautista; San Juan (then called Puerto Rico) is now its capital city.

St. John's, Newfoundland, was founded on his feast day June 24, 1497.

Exactly 34 years later San Juan del Río, Querétaro, Mexico was founded on June 24, 1531.

Saint John, New Brunswick was named after the Saint John River which was named by Samuel de Champlain

Fête nationale du Québec — also known as la St- Jean-Baptiste — is the provincial holiday of Quebec, celebrated on June 24 of every year

Prince Edward Island, a Canadian province, was originally called Île de St-Jean or St. John's Island.

St. John's University located in Queens, New York; St. John's is the second largest Roman Catholic university in the United States.

Mission San Juan Bautista, one of the original 18th century missions in northern California.

The City of San Juan in Metro Manila, the Philippines. Also known by its formal name Sn Juan del Monte, the Pinaglabanan church is dedicated to this saint.

12th century cathedral in Kamień Pomorski (Poland) with a famous 17th century organ

St. John Ambulance and the Venerable Order of St. John.

Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta (commonly referred to as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta)

St. John's wort is named after St. John because it is traditionally harvested on his feast day, June 24.

Famous churches

on the site where John the Baptist is said to have been born.]]

Two different Churches of St. John the Baptist in Ein Karem, traditional place of his birth

Basilica of St. John Lateran

St. John the Baptist of Coventry

St. John the Baptist in St. John's, Newfoundland (Basilica-cathedral)

St. John the Baptist in St. John's, Newfoundland (Anglican Cathedral)

San Giovanni Battista of Cesena (cathedral)

San Giovanni Battista of Rimini (cathedral)

San Giovanni Battista Turin (cathedral)

Saint-Jean-Baptiste d'Audresselles

St. John's Cathedral of Valletta

Greek Orthodox Church of St John the Baptist Located on Ha-Notsrim street in the Christian Quarter, Old Jerusalem

Church of St. John the Baptist, Mudgee, New South Wales, Australia

St. John's (Episcopal) Church, Elizabeth, New Jersey, where the youngest signer of the United States Constitution is buried, Jonathan Dayton, and the 1769 wedding site of the parents of Elizabeth Ann Seton (first American Roman Catholic saint)

Chapel of St. John the Baptist (Capela de São João Baptista), 18th century, at the time an expensive chapel in Europe. It is in the Igreja de São Roque (Lisbon)

Cathedral of St John the Baptist, Warsaw, Poland. Coronation and Burial Site of Stanislaw August Poniatowski, last King of Poland.

Monastery of St John The Baptist Bigorski, Macedonia. Built in 1020, destroyed by the Turks in the 16th century and then rebuilt in 1743. Famous for its iconostasis.

Cathedral of St John the Baptist in Charleston, South Carolina

St. John the Evangelist Parish (Bergenfield, NJ)

See also

Baptism of Jesus

Cultural and historical background of Jesus

Ebionites

Johannite

Messengers from John the Baptist

References

Notes

Books on John the Baptist

Brooks Hansen (2009) John the Baptizer: A Novel. New York: W. W. Norton. ISBN 978-0-393-06947-1

Murphy, Catherine M. (2003) John the Baptist: Prophet of Purity for a New Age. Collegeville: Liturgical Press. ISBN 0-8146-5933-0

Taylor, Joan E. (1997) The Immerser: John the Baptist within Second Temple Judaism. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans. ISBN 0-8028-4236-4

W. Barnes Tatum (1994) John the Baptist and Jesus: A Report of the Jesus Seminar., Sonoma, California: Polebridge Press, 1994, ISBN 0-944344-42-9

Webb, Robert L. (1991) John the Baptizer and Prophet: a Socio-Historical Study. Wipf and Stock Publishers. ISBN 978-1-59752-986-0 (first published Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1991)

Accounts in ancient literature

Josephus wrote that "...Herod slew him, who was a good man, and commanded the Jews to exercise virtue, both as to righteousness towards one another and piety towards God, and so to come to baptism; for that the washing would be acceptable to him, if they made use of it, not in order to the remission of some sins, but for the purification of the body; supposing still that the soul was thoroughly purified beforehand by righteousness." (Josephus, AJ, 18.5.2)

Islamic view

Passages in the Qur'an

Appraisals for Yahya: 6:85, 19:7, 19:12, 19:13, 19:14, 19:15

Yahya's prophecy: 3:39, 6:85, 19:12

External links

Catholic Encyclopedia: St. John the Baptist

"John the Baptist" from the Jewish Encyclopedia

Prophet Yahya (John) in the light of Islamic tradition.

Relics of John the Baptist

Gandzasar Monastery, Nagorno Karabakh

Prophet Yahya (John) in the light of Islamic tradition.

Prophet John (Yahya)

Category:Apocalypticists Category:0s BC births Category:30s deaths Category:Baptism Category:Prophets in Christianity

Category:New Testament people Category:Roman era Jews Category:Saints from the Holy Land Category:Palestinian Roman Catholic saints Category:People celebrated in the Lutheran liturgical calendar Category:Prophets of Islam Category:Judaism-related controversies Category:1st-century Romans Category:People executed by decapitation Category:1st-century Christian saints Category:Founders of religions

Name	Beverley Martyn
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Beverley Kutner
Born	1947, Coventry, England
Genre	Folk, folk rock
Occupation	Singer, songwriter, guitarist
Years active	1965–present
Label	Island RecordsVoiceprint Records
Associated acts	John Martyn

Beverley Martyn (born Beverley Kutner, 1947, near Coventry) is a singer, songwriter, and guitarist.

While still a student, she was picked to front The Levee Breakers, a jug band who played the folk circuit in South East England. At the age of 16 recorded her first single "Babe I'm Leaving You" which was released on the Parlophone label in 1965.

Martyn was then signed as a solo artist to the Deram Records label. In 1966 she released a single, "Happy New Year" (b-side "Where The Good Times Are"), written by Randy Newman, on which she was accompanied by Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and Nicky Hopkins. "Happy New Year" was chosen, together with "I Love My Dog" by Cat Stevens, to launch Deram as the progressive branch of Decca Records (see references). She also recorded an unreleased single in the same year, "Picking Up The Sunshine" / "Gin House Blues". During this period she was taught the guitar by the folk guitarist Bert Jansch who also encouraged her songwriting. Her follow-up single "Museum", written by Donovan was released in 1967, produced by Denny Cordell.

Closely involved with the folk scene at the time, she met Paul Simon who invited her to New York where she contributed to the track "Faking It" on the Simon & Garfunkel album, Bookends--she's the one who says in the middle of the song: "Good morning, Mr Leitch, have you had a busy day." She later appeared at the Monterey Pop Festival on June 16, 1967, as did Simon & Garfunkel.

In 1969 she met, and later married, John Martyn. As a duo they issued two albums, Stormbringer! and The Road to Ruin both of which were released on Island Records. Following The Road to Ruin, Island persuaded John Martyn to resume his career as a solo artist because they believed that there was more public interest in solo singer/songwriters. Although she was spending more time with her children, Beverley continued to contribute to John's solo projects. However, John's physical violence towards her led to the breakdown of the marriage. The couple divorced during the making of John's album Grace and Danger in 1980, and Beverley retired from the music industry for a number of years. Beverley was interviewed in 2004 for a BBC documentary about John Martyn and despite the decades since their marriage ended the conflicted feelings as regards her ex-husband was there for all to see.

In the 1990s, with her children now grown up, she was invited to join Loudon Wainwright III on his European tour. In 2001 she resumed her recording career with the release of the album No Frills.

In 2004 Beverley's song ‘Primrose Hill’ about the simple joys of domesticity, which she wrote and sang on ‘Road To Ruin’ was sampled by Fat Boy Slim for the track ‘North West Three' which is on his 2004 album ‘Palookaville.’

At various times, Martyn has worked with Levon Helm, Jimmy Page, Dave Pegg, Richard Thompson, John Renbourn, Ralph McTell, Davy Graham, and Sandy Denny. She appeared in the photograph on the album sleeve of Bert Jansch's 1965 album It Don't Bother Me; where she can be seen lounging in the background.

Currently, Beverley is recording an album for release in 2010. The album will feature a previously unrecorded Nick Drake & Beverley Martyn song 'Reckless Jane'. Martyn has also recently been completing her keenly awaited autobiography.

External links

The Beverley Martyn Website

Biography on Voiceprint site

References

Category:1947 births Category:Living people Category:English female singers Category:English songwriters Category:English folk singers